


Kar’tayl

by onepageatatime715



Series: Clone-Centric Sides [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Clones, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff, Friendship, Love Confessions, M/M, Mando'a, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Romance, The Clones Deserve Happiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:21:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25756546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onepageatatime715/pseuds/onepageatatime715
Summary: Kix had known about the relationship between his Captain and Marshal Commander since after Kadavo – weeks ago - Kix hadn’t told anyone else because he respected his alor’ad’s privacy enough to keep his business to himself. He knew that Fives, Jesse, and Tup would not have similar reservations. Seriously, Kix should have had more caf this morning. Or maybe something stronger.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex, CC-2224 | Cody/CT-7567 | Rex, CT-27-5555 | Fives | ARC-5555/CT-5385 | Tup, CT-5597 | Jesse/CT-6116 | Kix
Series: Clone-Centric Sides [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1880248
Comments: 20
Kudos: 101
Collections: TexWash's Must Reads and Rereads





	Kar’tayl

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gracesonnet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracesonnet/gifts).



> Kar’tayl - Knowledge
> 
> “They don’t know that we know they know we know,” - Inspired by Friends S05E14 (The One Where Everybody Finds Out). This idea came to me while re-watching Friends for the umpteenth time, and I couldn't let it go, so here you have it; a campy little one-shot about our favourite 501st clones (and Marshal Commander Cody). 
> 
> Gifted to @gracesonnet because they never miss a fic 💙

_“What I don’t understand, Commander, is what part of “Rex really shouldn’t be out of the med bay” you failed to understand,” Kix snarled, his face inches from Cody’s._

_“He’s here, you’ve bandaged him up, he’s got bacta on his wounds, so what I don’t understand why you’re still here, baar’ur,” Cody snarled right back, his earlier fears of the imposing medic momentarily forgotten as his protective rage reared its head._

_“Because, al’verde, Rex needs to be in the med bay, where I can properly monitor him, and you won’t let me take him there,” Kix shouted, jabbing a finger into Cody’s chest. Cody caught his wrist, pulling the medic against him as they glared at one another, two men not used to giving way to anyone else._

_“I said that Rex is staying here, and he will,” Cody growled, his voice dropping with deadly promise. “Tayli'bac?”_

_Kix pulled out of his grip and snarled back, his voice equally vicious as he refused to back down, “Get off this ship, Cody.”_

_“You’re throwing me out?” Cody laughed darkly. “You don’t get to pull rank on me in here, baar’ur.”_

_Kix paused at that – at the emphasis on here – glancing between Cody, Rex (who was lounging on his bunk with a look of bemused amusement on his face), and the blood on the wall. Something like understanding lit on his face, and he turned back to Cody._

_“I told you to bring him back to the med bay, not to kriffing kark him!” Kix shouted, but his words no longer held the same threat that they had. Cody just grinned savagely._

_“Get out, Kix,” Rex groaned from the bunk, his face now hidden in his hands._

~~~

Kix plopped down unceremoniously on the bench that Jesse, Fives, and Tup were already sharing, crammed together as they chatted over their morning caf – an extra cup of which was slid towards Fives almost instantaneously.

“ _Vor’e_ ,” Kix grumbled his thanks, still half asleep after a long night shift in the med bay.

It was perhaps why he didn’t immediately hear the nature of the conversation between his _vod’e_.

“ _Ke’sush_!” Jesse growled at Kix, startling him out of his reverie. “Did you hear a word I said?”

Kix shook his head, lifting his caf to take another large gulp. Whatever was on his _vod’e_ ’s minds, he had a feeling he was going to need the extra caf.

“We were just discussing the fact that the good Marshal Commander and our own dear Captain are karking,” Fives said primly. The result of the statement – if one could call it that – was Kix unceremoniously spewing his mouthful of coffee all over the table. Tup pounded him on the back as he coughed, grinning gleefully.

“What!?” Kix choked out at last, his eyes still watering.

“Karking, fucking, having sex,” Jesse clarified, his voice deadpan. “Making love, if you’re feeling like waxing poetic about it.”

Kix coughed again.

“I know that,” Kix grumbled, looking around at his _vod’e_. “But how do all of _you_ know that?”

Kix had known since after Kadavo – _weeks ago_ – after Cody had commed him to come to Rex’s quarters. Rex had escaped the med bay, and Kix had tasked Cody with hunting down his _vod’ika_ – only to discover that Cody had no intention of returning Rex to the med bay once he found him. Instead, he’d insisted on keeping Rex where he was, pulling rank because he was _karking_ the Captain.

Kix hadn’t told anyone else because he respected his _alor’ad_ ’s privacy enough to keep his business to himself.

“What do you mean, you know?” Jesse countered, his voice accusing.

“I figured it out, after Kadavo,” Kix admitted with a shrug. “Didn’t seem like anyone else’s business, so I didn’t figure anyone else needed to know.”

Jesse gaped at him, while Fives put a hand to his heart, doing his best to look wounded. Kix merely snorted at his dramatic _vod’e_.

“So,” Kix continued. “I’ll ask again - how do all of _you_ know about our _al’verde_ and _alor’ad_?”

“We saw them fornicating,” Tup announced, startling a choked laugh from his older _vod’e_. Kix grimaced slightly as he nodded, reaching for another – careful – sip of his caf. When he looked back up, he did not like the expressions he saw on Fives and Jesse’s faces.

“So, they know you know,” Fives said slowly, a maniacal grin blossoming on his face. “But they don’t know that Jesse, Tup, and I know?”

“Yes,” Kix acquiesced, before hurriedly continuing – something about the spark in Fives’ eyes worried him. “But it doesn’t matter who knows what. Now, enough of us know, that we could just tell them that we know.”

“Or,” Fives said, his voice distinctly mischievous now. “We could not tell them we know, and have a little fun of our own!”

Tup, Jesse, and Kix all gaped at Fives – but it was Jesse’s grin that turned devilish first, the expression uncannily similar to Fives’ own.

“Oooh, I would enjoy that,” Jesse responded wickedly. Kix groaned audibly – but none of his brother’s were listening to him anymore, too caught up in their little scheme.

“What do you have in mind?” Tup asked, more curious that mischievous – but clearly interested in the plot nonetheless.

Fives and Jesse’s matching grins were pure chaos as they turned to Kix.

~~~

Rex stormed into the med bay without pretense, Cody hot on his heels. Kix looked up from where he was sitting, data pad in hand.

“Kix,” Rex growled, stalking towards his _baar’ur_ with a dangerous look in his eyes. Kix hastily set the data pad down, resisting the urge to flee like a shiny caught with contraband for the first time.

“’Lek?” Kix responded.

“Fives knows about us,” Rex growled, gesturing between himself and the irate Commander at this shoulder.

“Well, I didn’t tell them,” Kix said, floundering helplessly under the accusing stares of his commanding officers. He realized his mistake as Cody’s mouth dropped open, his expression shifting from irate to aghast.

“Them?” Cody demanded. “Who’s them?”

Kix stared blankly for a moment, trying to come up with something that wouldn’t land him in even deeper trouble. Finally, he settled on playing dumb.

“Uh – Fives and … Kix,” the medic replied. He cringed as soon as the words left his mouth. He’d meant to play dumb, but not that dumb!

Rex and Cody crossed their arms in a movement so synchronized it would have been impressive – if Kix wasn’t scared half out of his mind.

“Kix,” Rex ground out.

“And Jesse,” Kix muttered. At Cody’s raised eyebrow, the medic sighed. “And Tup.”

Rex and Cody shared a look, prompting Kix to continue.

“I would have told you, but they made me promise not to tell!” Kix explained hurriedly. “I’m sorry, but it’s over now, right? You can tell them that you know they know!”

The _al’verde_ and _alor’ad_ turned back to Kix, and the _baar’ur_ had to withhold himself from groaning aloud at the expressions on their faces – expressions that couldn’t mean anything but trouble.

“Unless,” Cody said, already scheming.

 _No, not unless. Please let this just end now._ Kix thought wildly. Was it too much to hope that at least one other clone in the GAR wasn’t completely out of their _kriffing_ minds?

Rex seemed to catch on to what Cody was saying, continuing the idea for him.

“They don’t know that we know that they know,” Rex replied smoothly.

Honestly, at this point, Kix’s brain just hurt.

“Exactly,” Cody said. “The messers become the messees!”

Seriously, Kix should have had more caf this morning. Or maybe something stronger.

~~~

Fives, Tup, and Jesse were squished into one bunk, planning their next move, when Fives’ com began beeping. He answered it immediately – out of habit – and wasn’t surprised to hear Rex’s voice on the other end of the call.

“Hello, you,” Fives answered, his tone sultry. He waved at Tup and Jesse to quiet down – his two _vod’e_ immediately ceased speaking, listening intently instead.

“ _Su cuy’gar, cyar’ika_ ,” came Rex’s voice. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

“ _Me’ven_?” Fives squeaked out. Behind him, Tup snorted.

“You know that thing you said before?” Rex continued, his own voice verging towards flirtatious. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued.”

“Really?” Fives ground out.

“I mean, I’ve got my entire quarters to myself,” Rex mused. “It gets lonely in here. Why don’t you come over tonight? I’ll let you feel my bicep – or maybe more.”

Fives turned, openly gaping at Tup and Jesse, who were both turning red from the effort to not laugh aloud.

“I – I’ll have to get back to you on that,” Fives replied tightly. “Okay, bye.”

Fives ended the com as quickly as he could. As soon as it flicked off, Tup and Jesse burst into raucous laughter, the latter actually falling off the bunk he was laughing so hard.

“I’ll let you feel my bicep – or maybe more,” Jesse wheezed between laughs.

Fives looked between the two, who were slowly getting control of themselves, before rounding on Kix – who was trying his best to sink into the bunk across from them.

“Kix,” Fives accused. “Do they know that we know?”

“No,” Kix replied meekly. Jesse pushed himself up from the floor, still wiping away tears. He leaned down towards his own _cyare_ , pointing accusingly at Kix.

“Kix,” Jesse repeated.

“They know you know,” Kix admitted. Jesse whirled around to face Fives and Tup.

“I knew it,” Fives declared.

“I would say “Thank the little gods, everybody knows, it’s finally over,”” Kix muttered. “But that hasn’t been working so well for me.”

“Urgh, I cannot believe those two!” Jesse grumbled.

“They thought that they could mess with us?” Fives said, his own voice already turning devious again. “They’re trying to mess with us?”

Jesse and Tup chortled at the statement, and Kix just knew – he knew – that he wasn’t going to like what was coming next.

“They don’t know that we know they know we know,” Fives continued, his excitement growing.

Kix merely sighed and shook his head.

Jesse whirled around, pointing an accusing finger at his _cyare_ once again.

“Kix, you can’t say anything!” Jesse ordered.

“Honestly, my opinion doesn’t seem to be helping much anyways” Kix muttered back.

~~~

“I brought some of the good Coruscanti whiskey we picked up last time we were planet side,” Fives said by way of greeting as he slipped into Rex’s quarters. “Want some?”

“Why not,” Rex replied easily, smirking slightly as Fives popped the bottle open with ease. The ARC trooper took a swig before passing the bottle to his Captain.

“So, here we are,” Fives said casually. “Nervous?”

Rex took a swig of the whiskey before answering, the burning alcohol in his throat centering him. Without the sensation, he may have laughed and ruined the bluff before it truly started.

“Me?” Rex replied lightly. “ _Nayc_ – I want this to happen.”

“So do I,” Fives agreed. He snatched the bottle back from Rex, taking an unnecessarily large gulp.

“You look good,” Rex said, his voice deepening as he stared at Fives. The other clone couldn’t help but flush under the intensity of his captain’s gaze.

“Thanks,” Fives said, mentally cursing himself for how breathless he sounded. This was a _kriffing_ ruse, nothing more. “You know, you say things like that, and you make me want to rip your blacks right off.”

Rex stepped closer, pressing himself into Fives’ space. His gaze never faltered, drawing Fives in with its intensity.

“Then why don’t you?” Rex’s voice was guttural, the invitation clear.

Fives gulped, then tightened his resolve before he pressed even closer to his Captain, leaving Rex nowhere to go. Their breath mixed, mingling in the air between them.

“Well, I guess there’s nothing left for us to do but kiss,” Fives said, breathless and uncomfortable all at once. This plan had seemed a damned sight easier when he, Jesse, and Tup had planned it out in the barracks earlier.

Now, confronted with his Captain, looking at him like he might devour him, his lips a mere breath away from Fives’ own… The ARC trooper couldn’t help but _want_.

“Here it comes,” Rex murmured, leaning towards Fives until their lips pressed against one another in a sensation that was entirely familiar, yet alien all at once. Rex was kissing Fives, but Fives wasn’t Cody. Fives wasn’t his _cyare_.

Rex jerked away suddenly, cursing angrily.

“Alright, alright, alright!” Rex cried out in frustration. “You win, okay? You win! I can’t do this with you!”

Fives barked out a laugh, backing up to give Rex space.

“And why not?” The ARC trooper asked of his captain smugly.

“Because I’m in love with Cody,” Rex shouted angrily, gesturing wildly.

Fives gaped at him – he barely even heard Jesse, Kix and Tup enter the room behind him (though he did see Cody tumble out of Rex’s poor excuse for a closet, looking disheveled and slightly shocked).

“What?” Fives blurted out, looking between his _alor’ad_ and _al’verde_.

“That’s right – I love Cody,” Rex shouted again, seemingly unaware – or uncaring – of their growing audience. Cody made his way towards Rex, his face impassive as he gathered Rex in his arms.

“ _Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum, Rex’ika_ ,” Cody murmured, leaning forward to capture Rex in a kiss. Rex kissed him back forcibly.

“ _Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum, cyare_ ,” Rex replied when the two finally pulled apart, foreheads still pressed together.

Then the two turned towards their gaping audience – Jesse, Kix, Tup, and Fives – all of whom appeared to have been rendered speechless.

Finally, Jesse came to his senses.

“I thought you two were just _karking_ ,” Jesse said.

“We didn’t know you two were in love,” Tup agreed.

“Alright, so that’s it, it’s over,” Kix breathed a sigh of relief. “Everybody knows!”

Rex and Cody exchanged a look, and Kix knew he had spoken too soon.

“Well actually, the 212th doesn’t,” Rex started.

“Yes, and we would appreciate it if no one told them yet,” Cody continued.

Kix sighed.

**Author's Note:**

> Mando'a Translations: 
> 
> Alor'ad - Captain  
> Al'verde - Commander  
> Baar'ur - Medic  
> Cyare - Love, Beloved  
> Cyar'ika - Darling, Sweetheart  
> Ke’sush - Attention  
> Me’ven - Huh? What?  
> Nayc - No  
> Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum - I love you  
> Su cuy’gar - Hello  
> Tayli'bac? - Got it?  
> Vod - Brother/Sister (Plural: Vod'e)  
> Vod'ika - Little Sister/Brother  
> Vor’e - Thanks (Informal)


End file.
